Malaysia's constitution should be amended to ensure that only a Muslim can become prime minister of the multiracial country, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said today.

Hadi, who is leading a challenge to the government in elections due on March 21, said that under the present secular constitution "the prime minister could be anyone".

Muslims make up a little more than 60 percent of Malaysia's population of 25 million, which includes Buddhists, Hindus and Christians among the large ethnic Chinese, Indian and indigenous minorities.

Islam is the official religion, but all citizens are allowed to practice their faith.

What about Chinese?

Asked whether a Chinese could become prime minister under his proposed constitutional amendment, Abdul Hadi told the official Bernama news agency: "We want a Chinese who is a Muslim."

Most Muslims are ethnic Malays, and the prime minister has traditionally been appointed by Umno, which is the leading party in a ruling multiracial coalition.

No-one other than a Muslim Malay has held the post since independence from Britain in 1957.

The role of Islam in government has shaped up as the major issue in the elections, with PAS pressing for a theocratic state and Umno defending its record as the Islamic torchbearer in a government which accords equal rights to all races. - AFP